Publications by authors named "Michael Melbert"
Background: Acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding is a life-threatening medical condition with a relevant risk of re-bleeding even after initial endoscopic hemostasis. The implantable HemoPill monitor contains a novel telemetric sensor to optically detect blood in the stomach allowing the surveillance of high-risk patients for re-bleedings.
Methods: In this pre-clinical porcine study, bleeding has been simulated by injecting porcine blood into the stomach of a pig through an implanted catheter using a syringe pump.
Article Synopsis
- A new telemetric sensor capsule called HemoPill can detect acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding by being swallowed by patients, providing real-time data about bleeding status to an external receiver.
- In a study, participants ingested meals with and without their own blood, and the HemoPill successfully identified blood in the stomach through its optical sensor.
- The results demonstrated a reliable connection between the amount of blood ingested and the sensor’s readings, allowing for potential thresholds to determine the presence of bleeding, making HemoPill a promising alternative to traditional endoscopy.
Acute upper gastrointestinal bleedings from ulcers or esophago-gastric varices are life threatening medical conditions which require immediate endoscopic therapy. Despite successful endoscopic hemostasis, there is a significant risk of rebleeding often requiring close surveillance of these patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Any time delay to recognize bleeding may lead to a high blood loss and increases the risk of death.
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